The ZONE remembers Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
On Saturday, March 5, 2005, the Johnny Depp-Zone joined with friends and admirers of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson all over the world and took time out to honor and celebrate his remarkable life. The Zone today is full of tributes to Hunter, from the ONBC discussion of Hunter’s writing, to the pictures and artwork posted, to the memories articulated on every forum. Clearly Hunter will be deeply missed by the many Zoners who loved him and his work. The Zone wrote no official eulogy for HST; that was too heartbreaking a task for anyone to shoulder. But here is an excerpt from a farewell letter to Hunter written by the Zone’s webmaster, Part-time Poet. The full letter appears on the Porch:
“You believed in liberty and justice–and not just for the privileged few. You screamed like a banshee at oppression and injustice wherever you found it, even if it emanated from the Oval Office. You shouted ‘Fire!’ long before the rest of us sleepy souls even smelled smoke, and you were invariably right. Often you were right and all alone, called crazy for your pains. That didn’t matter. You kept writing, warning, and shouting. I see now that you were more dedicated to the Presidential oath–‘to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States’–than some who swore those words before the Chief Justice on Inauguration Day.
“‘I have to think that a person can do some good,’ you once told a British Omnibus film crew. Fear not–you did.
“[. . .] Thank you for never giving up, or caving in, or bowing down to the status quo. [. . .] For so long you were our Atlas, carrying all of us on your broad shoulders. Now we will trail in your wake, struggling to grow up and fight our own battles without Gonzo to lead us.
But we know how.
Thanks to you.”
RIP, HST. We love you always.